Thanksgiving Thoughts 2025

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Thanksgiving hits different when you get older.

When you’re a kid, it’s turkey, pumpkin pie, the parade on TV, cousins sprinting around the house, and the promise that Christmas is around the corner.

But when you’re a man—a man with responsibilities, a man with a mission—the day shifts.

It becomes a pause.

A breath.

A moment to look at your life and say,

“What am I truly grateful for? What’s carrying me through?”

My list gets simpler every year.

My kids.

My health.

My people.

My mission.

And the ability to wake up and keep building, brick by brick.

But as I’ve gotten older, one more thing has crept into the picture.

The land beneath my feet.

The place I call home now—the trails I run, the lakes I walk around, the cities and small towns scattered across the Upper Midwest—it all has a history long before I showed up.

A history that’s beautiful.

Complicated.

Woven with both resilience and loss.

And on a day like today, I feel the weight of that.

Thanksgiving didn’t start as a peaceful feast.

There’s a harder truth beneath the holiday—especially for the Native peoples of this region, the Dakota and Ojibwe, whose land became the foundation for the life I get to live now.

I’m not here to preach a lesson or pretend I have perfect insight.

I’m just acknowledging reality.

Real gratitude includes awareness.

Respect.

Humility.

And honesty about the ground we stand on.

So yes—I’m grateful today.

Deeply.

But I’m also aware.

Awake.

Listening.

This isn’t just turkey and football.

It’s a reminder:

Don’t take your blessings for granted.

Don’t forget the stories that came before you.

Don’t ignore the truth just because it’s uncomfortable.

As Builders, we don’t sugarcoat.

We don’t shy away from complexity.

We honor what came before, even when it’s messy.

We build forward with respect and intention.

So wherever you are today…

Slow down.

Look at who’s around you.

Look at the land beneath you.

Look at the life you’re forging.

And be grateful—not blindly, but fully.

-Brickwall

Sunday Sendoff #23: Prioritization

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Brickwall's Sunday Sendoff

If you could crush every area of your life at once, every day, without slipping?

Ideal.

But we don’t live in an ideal world.

We live in a world of tradeoffs.

Every day is a tug-of-war for your time and energy.

Your kids pull.

Your work pulls.

Your training pulls.

Your recovery pulls.

Your relationship pulls.

Even your hobbies nibble at the edges.

And that’s why prioritization isn’t just helpful—it’s survival.

There used to be a cheesy poster that said:

WIN: What’s Important Now

We laughed at it.

But the older you get, the more you realize…that’s the whole game.

Wins come from doing what matters right now—not everything, not all at once, just the thing that moves the mission forward.

So ask yourself:

What’s important?

What can go on the backburner without guilt?

And what needs to be 86’d entirely so you can breathe again?

Prioritization is strength.

It’s muscle.

It’s clarity.

It’s the difference between moving forward with force…and drowning in your own to-do list.

Prioritize ruthlessly.

You’ll thank yourself for it.

The Week’s Post Loadout

11/17/25 | The Musclebuilder’s Skincare Loadout | Hygiene and Skincare

Don’t just slather any old crap on your skin. Here’s the way the Musclebuilder takes care of his largest organ.

11/20/25 | Perfect? Throw That Shit Right out the Window | Foundations

Perfection doesn’t exist. Toss it right out of the window and keep on truckin’.

11/22/25 | Hit With Passion: Turn the Switch All the Way Up | The Brickpile

I got hit with a stark realization at a concert.

Something to Ponder

Are your priorities aligned…or scrambled? Where have you let chaos creep in?

Why not pick one area, tighten it up, and give it the attention it’s been starving for?

There’s no better time than right now, brother.

See You In the Arena

This week is just about over. Next week is just about here. Let’s keep building.

Brick by brick.

-Brickwall

Hit With Passion: Turn the Switch All the Way Up

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Sometimes something just slaps you in the face and says:

“This is what life looks like when someone gives a damn.”

That’s what happened at the last concert I was at.

I wasn’t expecting enlightenment.

I was expecting good music, a solid night, a cool vibe.

Instead?

I got hit with passion.

Not the fake kind.

Not the Instagram-aesthetic kind.

The real deal:

The singer fully alive. The band fully in sync.

Everyone up there pouring themselves out like they didn’t have anything to save for tomorrow.

It wasn’t polished. It wasn’t plastic. It wasn’t perfect.

It was real.

And that honesty has a force to it.

It makes you ask questions you haven’t asked in a while:

  • When’s the last time you poured your soul into something?
  • When’s the last time you showed up all the way on?
  • When’s the last time you cared enough to lose yourself in what you were doing?

We all talk about “passion” like it’s a personality trait.

But watching those guys up there…it hit me:

Passion is work. Passion is reps. Passion is practice until you disappear into the craft. Passion is showing up on a random Tuesday and deciding:

“I’m going to be excellent whether anyone notices or not.”

That show reminded me of something:

Most people are living on 30%.

Dimmed. Muted. Running safe settings.

But the ones who turn the switch all the way up?

You feel them from across the room. You remember them. You leave changed.

That’s the kind of life I want to build.

I’m going to keep building, building until one day someone sees me in my element and thinks:

“Damn…that man is ON.”

Sunday Sendoff #22: Carry the Torch

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Brickwall's Sunday Sendoff

You weren’t dropped into this world by accident.

You’re the product of a long line of men and women who fought, built, sacrificed, endured, and survived so you could stand here today.

They handed you a burning torch.

Not a burden.

A blessing.

A responsibility.

You carry their strength in your spine.

You carry their lessons in your blood.

You carry their unfinished hopes in your hands.

The Musclebuilder knows this:

Every rep, every choice, every step forward is part of a lineage.

One day, your torch will pass to someone else.

But not yet.

Not today.

Right now, it’s your turn to burn bright.

To stand tall.

To push forward when it would be easier to fold.

To build something worthy of the ones who lit the flame before you.

Carry the torch—for the name on your back.

For the people who can no longer lift theirs.

For the future that’s watching even if you can’t see it yet.

Shine your light so bright it cuts through generations.

This is your chapter in the story.

Make it one they’d be proud of.

The Week’s Post Loadout

11/10/25 | The Key Differences Between Musclebuilding and Bodybuilding | Foundations

They’re brothers, but they have different missions.

11/11/25 | Veterans. The Ones Who Carried the Weight. | Brickwall’s Corner

Honoring veterans…the ones who carried the weight.

11/13/25 | How Musclebuilders Eat On the Go | Nutrition

Being on the go doesn’t mean nutrition, and your physique, goes out the window.

11/15/25 | Traffic Sucks | The Brickpile

A rant, and some ways to be productive, when you’re stuck in purgatory.

Something to Ponder

The torch has been handed to you. You gonna carry it?

See You In the Arena

This week is just about over. Next week is just about here. Let’s keep building.

Brick by brick.

-Brickwall

Traffic Sucks

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Traffic Sucks

It’s 4:43 p.m.

You’re sweating through your shirt.

Boxed in by huge SUVs, crawling along at 7 mph, surrounded by vape clouds, fast food fumes, and the faint sound of bass thumping from someone’s busted subwoofer.

Your right calf is twitching from riding the brake pedal.

And you’re starting to question every decision you’ve made since 11th grade.

This isn’t commuting.

This is confinement.

Let’s call it what it is:

Traffic is psychological warfare.

Okay, maybe a little dramatic, but you get the point. 🤣

The Circus of Stupidity

Traffic reveals the worst in people.

You’ve got the guy who waits until the last nanosecond to merge and expects applause.

The woman doing a full eyeshadow tutorial in the mirror while weaving like a bowling pin.

The old junkbox with 14 bumper stickers and no turn signal.

And let’s not forget that one person—there’s always one person—laying on the horn like he’s summoning the ancient gods of speed.

These aren’t commuters.

These are mobile maniacs in air-conditioned cages.

We Weren’t Built for This

You think our ancestors sat in metal boxes breathing exhaust while the driver in front of them made a left turn at the speed of erosion?

No.

They walked.

They carried logs.

They wrestled animals, chopped wood, and got places without asking permission from a traffic app.

You were forged to move—to hunt, lift, build, sweat.

Now you’re stuck watching your life tick by in a rearview mirror while your spine fuses into a question mark.

The Toll

Let’s break it down like a bad transmission:

  • Posture: Crushed. You look like a shrimp that gave up.
  • Cortisol: Through the roof. Congratulations, you’re now chemically stressed because the driver ahead of you couldn’t decide which lane to pick.
  • Testosterone: Dropping faster than the speed limit in a school zone.
  • Mind: Numb. Zombified. Trapped in a daily episode of “Why Do I Do This to Myself?”

Traffic doesn’t just waste time.

It erodes you—body and soul.

The Rage List

Let’s lighten it up. Here are just a few people I’d love to see permanently banned from the roads:

  • The Honk-Immediately-As-Light-Turns-Green Person
  • The 46-in-a-65 Dignified Sloth
  • The No-Turn-Signal Philosopher
  • “This Lane Ends? Never Heard of It” Bro
  • The Full Makeup Routine Artist (eyes on the road, Picasso)

We’re all just gladiators in this coliseum of chaos, except no one’s winning and the lions are hybrid drivers on their phones.

So What the Hell Do We Do?

We rebel. That’s what.

First things first, try to stay off the roads during peak times.

That may not be possible for most. Even then, traffic will seemingly always pop up somewhere.

You could also try to walk or bike more to your destinations.

Again, maybe not possible.

So here are some productive things you can do in your car when you’re stuck:

  • Make traffic your gym: Do muscle activation (go through and flex each muscle, one at a time), trap stretches, neck rolls, and breath work.
  • Fuel your mind: No more Top 40 garbage. Fire up podcasts, audiobooks, or primal silence.
  • Have deep conversations with your passengers: Whether that be your kids, a friend, or your dog, build bonds right there in the car.

Final Word

Traffic isn’t just annoying.

It’s a symbol—of comfort over challenge, of sedation over motion, of a world that wants you soft, slow, and sedated.

You weren’t made to idle.

You were made to move.

To build muscle, not migraines.

To charge forward, not sit stuck behind someone with weird bumper stickers.

So next time you’re bumper-to-bumper, remember this:

You’re a Builder. You don’t sit still. You don’t surrender.

You endure. And build from it.

Veterans. The Ones Who Carried the Weight.

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There are men who don’t get to choose comfort.

Men who don’t get to choose peace.

Men who stepped forward when others stepped back.

They didn’t do it for recognition.

They didn’t do it for applause.

They did it because something inside them said:

“I will carry the weight.”

Men of discipline.

Men of brotherhood.

Men of identity forged through fire.

Today, we don’t just say “thank you.”

We acknowledge the example.

They showed us what a man is capable of when he commits to something greater than himself.

To the men who served:

We see you.

We respect you.

We honor the weight you carried.

Sunday Sendoff #21: Major Life Change? Keep Training

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Brickwall's Sunday Sendoff

Life changes.

Sometimes slowly, like erosion.

Sometimes all at once, like a floor giving way.

New place.

New job.

New people.

New rhythms.

New expectations.

It can feel like the world is rearranging itself around you.

And in the middle of all that?

You need one thing that does not move.

One thing that stays steady while everything else shifts.

That’s the iron.

That’s the training.

Your breath.

Your reps.

Your cadence.

Your discipline.

Your training is not just about getting stronger.

It’s about staying you when life tries to scatter you to the wind.

When the environment changes, the identity remains.

You don’t train to escape life.

You train to face it.

You train to hold your center.

To keep your blade sharp.

To remind yourself:

I don’t break. I don’t fold. I don’t stop.

So when the ground moves under your feet?

You do what the Musclebuilder does:

You train.

No matter where you are.

No matter what shifts.

No matter what comes next.

Because the man who keeps training through change…doesn’t just survive it.

He grows through it.

He becomes more.

Carry on, brother.

The Week’s Post Loadout

11/3/25 | How to Control the Rage (Before It Controls You) | Mindset and Strategy

The rage will ruin your life if you let it. Here’s how to control it.

11/5/25 | Flux Capacitor Day: Build the Future You Want | Brickwall’s Corner

A man hit his head and had an idea. Here’s the lesson.

11/5/25 | In Frame Vol. 13: Choppy Waters, Anchors Down | In Frame

Anchors down, hold steady through the storms.

11/6/25 | Musclebuilder Body Wash: What Makes the Cut? | Hygiene and Skincare

Do you ever think about what you wash your body with? Here’s why you should.

11/8/25 | Pave Paradise by Have Heart…a Punch Straight to the Chest | The Brickpile

Some songs just HIT. Here’s one of those songs.

Something to Ponder

When life shifts under your feet, do you fall—or do you stand steady?

When things change, do you get knocked off course—or do you double down?

See You In the Arena

This week is just about over. Next week is just about here. Let’s keep building.

Brick by brick.

-Brickwall

Pave Paradise by Have Heart…a Punch Straight to the Chest

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Some songs don’t just play.

They hit.

They land.

They connect.

They crack something open inside your ribcage and let the light—or the fire—pour out.

Pave Paradise is one of those songs.

The second it starts, you feel it.

The drums don’t sound like drums—they sound like a heartbeat trying to break out of your chest.

The guitars and bass don’t just come in—they flood the room.

The vocals don’t ask permission—they grab you by the collar and drag you straight into the fight.

This isn’t background music.

This is grind music.

This is brick-by-brick, day-after-day, nobody-sees-you-working music.

And the message hits:

We want the grind to end…but the minute we stop, we feel empty.

There’s a duality inside:

We want rest. But we crave the battle.

We want peace. But we’re built for war.

We want the summit. But we were born to climb.

That’s what this track is:

A reminder of the gift inside the struggle.

The paradise we’re “paving” isn’t the one we’re losing.

It’s the one we’re building.

So when you’re tired, when you’re worn down, when the world feels heavy and the grind feels endless…put this one on repeat.

Let the first strike of those drums reset your mind.

Let the flood of the guitar and bass shake the dust off your spirit.

Let the roar remind you:

To build is to grind.